The Villainess’s Darling [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 51

Early morning. The sunlight chased away the thin mist, streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows and spilling across the bed.

In a luxurious, high-end bed, Ning Xiao blinked her eyes open. Her lashes fluttered like the wings of a butterfly as she waited for her brain to fully wake up before sitting up and tossing the duvet aside.

Her rose-red silk nightgown contrasted sharply with her snow-white skin, which was as smooth as polished jade. The gown slipped slightly, revealing thin shoulders and delicate collarbones, while the soft curves beneath the silk dipped into an alluring hint of cleavage.

Ning Xiao hooked a fallen strap back over her shoulder and pressed her fingertips to her red lips, letting out a lazy, elegant yawn.

[Xiao Qi, have you located the female lead yet?]

In her previous world, Ning Xiao had lived out a full life with Yun Can’er. After passing away from old age, she expected to return to the real world. However, she lacked the points necessary to purchase the “Soul Restoration Pill.” Without a single day to rest, System 13579 whisked her away to the next “torture-themed” novel to grind for more points.

Ning Xiao had read the previous novel, so she hadn’t needed much help from System 13579. This time, however, she was flying blind. The system had only provided a brief overview of the backstory, the future plot points, and the main characters. For anything more specific, she had to ask as she went.

Three days ago, Ning Xiao entered the novel Cruel Love in a Wealthy Family. She was now the “wicked stepmother” supporting character—also named Ning Xiao and the stepmother of the female lead, Yun Can’er.

When she first heard the lead’s name, Ning Xiao had frozen. System 13579 had explained: “In the last world, the female lead’s ‘blackening’ prevented the host from earning maximum points. To increase your empathy for her, the Main System has renamed this world’s lead Yun Can’er. We hope the host remembers this lesson and does not allow her to turn dark again.”

Ning Xiao found this somewhat ridiculous. Even if this girl shared a name with her Yun Can’er, she wasn’t the same person. How could she feel “empathy” for a counterfeit?

The backstory of this novel was quite convoluted.

The original [Ning Xiao] was the eldest daughter of a moderately wealthy family—beautiful, brilliant, and possessed of a bright, sharp personality and noble poise.

Once, at a charity auction, someone deliberately tried to drive up the price of a painting [Ning Xiao] wanted. Instead of backing down, she played along, aggressively hiking the price to ten times its market value. Just before the other person could bail, she bowed out first, leaving them with a massive financial blow.

This scene caught the eye of Yun Boyuan, the CEO of the Yun Group.

Yun Boyuan was nearly fifty. His wife had been bedridden with a chronic illness for years and had finally passed away a month prior. Having cut ties with his relatives thirty years ago, the only family he had left was his eighteen-year-old daughter, Yun Can’er.

Yun Can’er was naturally timid. She had been bullied by classmates since childhood and never learned how to fight back. Yun Boyuan was too busy with work to teach her, and her mother had been too ill to guide her. As she grew older, her submissive nature only worsened. Now, she was at the point where she was afraid to even speak to strangers.

As his only child, Yun Boyuan adored her. However, his recent physical showed he was in poor health; he could keel over at any moment. He wasn’t afraid of death, but he was terrified of leaving Can’er alone. If he handed the massive family business to her now, she wouldn’t be able to keep it for a week.

He knew all too well how unreliable men could be, and finding a trustworthy fiancé for her on such short notice was impossible. He didn’t want to just hand her off to some stranger. Instead, he wanted to find someone to guide her, care for her, and help her grow.

After seeing [Ning Xiao] at the auction, he admired her decisiveness. After doing a background check, he was even more impressed. Not long after, he struck a deal with the Ning family and married her.

They never officially registered the marriage at the civil affairs bureau—they only held a grand wedding and they never shared a bed. He signed a contract with her: she would look after Yun Can’er, and after his death, she would manage the Yun Group as a regent. Once Can’er married, [Ning Xiao] would return control to her. In exchange, [Ning Xiao] would receive one-fifth of the Yun estate as payment.

A week after the wedding, Yun Boyuan went abroad for business. His plane crashed, and his body was never recovered.

After the funeral, [Ning Xiao] took over the company per the will. She immediately found an excuse to kick the student-aged Yun Can’er out of the house to work, calling it “character building.” Once Can’er was gone, [Ning Xiao] hired a handsome, starving artist named Tan Rui to seduce her. Tan Rui befriended Can’er on day one and stayed by her side, reporting back to [Ning Xiao] daily.

By the time Ning Xiao transmigrated into this body, Can’er had been out of the house for half a month. However, three days ago, Tan Rui suddenly vanished. Ning Xiao had sent people to their last known location, only to find the place deserted.

With the female lead missing, Ning Xiao couldn’t trigger any plot points. She had to find her—and fast.

System 13579, which had been fairly reliable in the last world, was now glitching constantly. It had been under “repair” for three days and still couldn’t pinpoint a location.

System 13579 said guiltily: [Sorry, Host. I can only determine that she is still in Hai City. I can’t get a more precise location.]

[Forget it. Keep repairing yourself; I’ll figure it out.]

Ning Xiao got up, washed, and changed into a sophisticated, elegant suit. Downstairs, the nanny had already prepared breakfast.

“Madam, today we have sticky rice shumai and multigrain soymilk,” the nanny said with a flattering smile.

“Mhm.” Ning Xiao sat down to eat.

The staff in the Yun household were world-class social climbers. When the timid Yun Can’er was in charge, they treated her with zero respect and did the bare minimum. The moment Ning Xiao became the lady of the house, their attitudes shifted instantly.

After breakfast, Ning Xiao grabbed a random key and headed to the underground garage. Sliding into a sapphire-blue Porsche, she checked her phone. It was 8:45 AM nearly time for work. To avoid giving people any reason to gossip, the original [Ning Xiao] had been a diligent worker. Under her management, the Yun Group hadn’t grown much, but it hadn’t declined either.

Not wanting to break character, she called the CEO’s special assistant, Yang Yuanqi.

“CEO Ning, this is Yang Yuanqi. Please give me your instructions.”

“I have some personal business this morning and need to take some leave,” Ning Xiao said. “Call me if there’s an emergency. Email any documents needing a signature; I’ll handle them when I’m in the office this afternoon.”

“Understood, CEO Ning.”

Ning Xiao hung up, hit the gas, and pulled out of the garage, merging into the morning traffic. Ten minutes later, she parked in front of the police station. She slid on her sunglasses and walked inside.

The moment she entered, the bustling, noisy lobby went quiet. Even with sunglasses on, her clothes and aura screamed wealth and beauty.

“Look at that figure… how does a woman actually have an A4 waist and a 34C chest at the same time?” “Is she a celebrity?” “Probably not. Stars don’t dare enter a police station without a mask. She isn’t wearing one.”

Ignoring the whispers, Ning Xiao walked to the front desk in her high heels and removed her shades. She addressed the stunned young man behind the counter. “Hello, I’d like to report a missing person. My daughter is gone.”

Ning Xiao looked twenty-five at most. If she had a daughter, the child was likely only three or four. A missing toddler was serious business. The clerk immediately flagged down a passing officer. “Officer Li! This lady’s child is missing. Get her statement so we can start the search.”

Officer Li stopped in his tracks. “Please, follow me.”

They sat down, and the officer began the intake. “Name?”

“Ning Xiao. Ning as in ‘peace,’ Xiao as in ‘carefree.'”

“Age?”

“Twenty-five.”

“Occupation?”

“Current CEO of the Yun Group.”

Officer Li couldn’t help but look up. The wedding between Yun Boyuan and Ning Xiao had been so grand it was still a topic of local gossip, with many speculating about the massive age gap. He took down her phone number and address. “Let me see your ID.”

After checking her ID, he moved on to the missing person. “Name of the missing individual? What is their relationship to you? When was the last time you had contact, and when did you realize they were missing?”

A flash of exhaustion crossed Ning Xiao’s eyes. She sighed. “Her name is Yun Can’er. She is my stepdaughter. We last spoke fifteen days ago. I tried calling her three days ago and realized I couldn’t reach her.”

Officer Li’s expression soued. He harbored the usual prejudices about wealthy families and assumed this “stepmother” was negligent. He frowned. “Yun Can’er doesn’t live at the Yun residence? Why was there such a long gap between contacts?”

Ning Xiao explained, “Can’er left home half a month ago to find a job. Lately, my work has been grueling. I’ve been working from 9:00 AM until past midnight. I’d wake up and go straight back to the office. Three days ago, things finally calmed down, so I called her. It wouldn’t go through. Despite our past friction, she has never ignored my calls. I got worried and checked her last known rental, but the place was covered in dust. She’s gone.”

Officer Li took down the address of the rental unit and tossed his pen aside. “Fine. You can go. We’ll notify you if there’s progress.” His tone had noticeably cooled.

Ning Xiao didn’t mind. she gave a graceful nod. “Thank you.”

As she walked to her car, she noticed several flashes from a distance. Someone was clearly taking surreptitious photos of her. Ning Xiao acted as though she hadn’t seen a thing, got into her Porsche, and drove straight to the office.

Support